His movement confused the two oversized halfwits, who let Ace go to try and catch Swindle. Big mistake.
With a twirl of a drumstick, Ace's firmly buried his dagger in the stomach of the big ape closest to him. He roared and fell back against the wall, holding his bleeding wound which did little to stop the black blood from squirting everywhere. Swindle took down the other goon, slicing his throat with quick precision. The big boor didn't even see it coming. Chloe hadn't even seen it coming. Swindle was fast.
"I told father you two dolts were worthless!" Varney screamed, as her brothers fought pointlessly to stay alive. Chloe took advantage of her sudden distraction to break Varney's hold on her. Ace took the liberty of knocking her out with one very solid right hook. Guess boys really did hit girls in this world. Boy, was she grateful for that.
"I draw the line at killin' Royals," He said, standing over Varney, flexing the fingers on the hand he'd used to K.O. her. "My brother's a Royal. I can't kill her."
Swindle came to an abrupt stop in front of them. "How honorable of you," he said, his accent thick with annoyance, "but I hope that doesn't mean you're not in the killing mood anymore."
Ace groaned. "Don't tell me Varney brought more of her family members with her."
Swindle nodded. "Strafford and the twins are holding them back in the Great Hall. But we won't hold them for long. There are only six of us," He wiped his knife clean, "and there's a small army of them."
*****
XIII. Chloe
They had sprinted through the halls of the Chateau to arrive at the Great Hall in record time. All she'd managed to put on was a pair of shoes and Strafford's hoodie he’d left behind before the demigods had dragged her away.
"What about Mystic and the other girls?" She had asked on the way. "Are they gonna be okay?"
"You don't have to worry abou' them, wan. They can handle themselves," Ace had replied, then added as an after thought. "And they couldn't find Dr. Life if their half-breed lives depended on it." She hadn't had time to question what that meant.
Chloe could only remember being in the hall on one other occasion. It was a big open space of black marble walls and floors with mounted golden statues of Apollo and giant marble pillars holding up the ceiling. There was a wide marble staircase leading up to a set of gold double doors that hadn't been there before and two corridors leading in opposite directions out of it. The obscure door beside the stairs led to Melody Hall, and in the middle of this great room, a very lopsided brawl with Hades' children had ensued and only the sounds of clashing metal and battle cries could be heard. Bill swooped down, probably to let them know he was nearby, before returning to his perch above the battle zone.
"Bloody hell!" Ace exclaimed of the scene and turned to block a sudden attack on his right from a member of the enemy clan of siblings––a short girl with two daggers of her own. Two more girls joined in, and Ace was quickly outnumbered three to one. Swindle blocked Chloe with his body to protect her from harm, but she watched over his shoulder. Ace eliminated the first girl with a deep cut to her abdomen. The second girl made an ugly gash in his arm and he gave her an even uglier wound to the chest. The third one was a better fighter than her two sisters and put up a bit of a fight. She dodged and blocked most of Ace's attacks and left a couple of slashes across his cheek. But she couldn't match him for strength. He eventually overpowered her in a showdown of metal to metal where a massive slip caused her to impale herself on her own dagger.
Chloe watched with a mixture of horror and fascination. This was a real fight, a battle, and people were dying. She had known death was a part of battle, but seeing it firsthand was something different entirely. Seeing the blood, the lifeless bodies, the expressions of coming death––it was all a bit affecting. But it was clear this was something that she would have to grow used to whether she could stomach it or not.
Swindle took her by the arm and led her away when Ace engaged in a second round with a new opponent, all the while primed for a sudden attack on his end. The attack came in a barrage of hot coals that exploded in midair so its searing bits could cover more area. In the chaos, it was impossible to see where they had come from.
As the fiery coals flew through the air towards them, Swindle whistled and Bill swooped down from his perch again. The demigod grabbed the hawk's claws as he flew in front of them, Bill's wings spread, he spun in the air, and the bird turned into a golden shield that Swindle brought down over their heads just as the hot cinders rained down on them.
"Bill's a Morph?" She exclaimed over the noise of the battle.
"Yes! A Fauna Morph! Stay close!" He handed her his knife, dislodged his sword from his hip and brought down the shield.
They moved through the combat zone practically as one person since Chloe refused to move more than a few inches away from him. Swindle swung and cut and stabbed, and she was even forced to defend a couple of attacks directed her way. A boy bellowed at her and poised himself to deliver a blow to her head. She screamed when an arrow pierced his neck and his bellow turned into a bloody gurgle as he crumpled to the floor. She looked up to find Hector only a few meters away, bow drawn to release another arrow just in case the boy didn't have the common decency to die already. Assured the boy was dead, he shot her a wink and slipped away. Later she would see arrows flying overhead and know it was him or Theseus using their bows to lay down the law.
But it was Strafford that truly left her wonderstruck.
He was taking them on, six to one, and having an easy time of it. He was fast, he was lithe and he was powerful. He had already injured or taken out two or three already. One blow from him knocked his enemies back several feet, but they kept coming back for more. He could see from impossible angles all that was going on around him and was already moving into another attack before he was finished with the one before it. His daggers were so swift that she thought her vision had become unfocused. He caught sight of her and she swore she saw relief flood his expression before an angry frown took over. She knew it was because of her busted face, but even amidst the chaos, his look filled her with a sense of security and she felt like there was no place she would rather be than right there in battle with him.
Swindle became engaged in conflict with three demigods of his own and she was left vulnerable. A lone demigoddess looking for someone to stab spotted her, bellowed, and made a determined beeline straight for her. By the time the girl had made it into her atmosphere, she had narrowed down her options to two things: run or fight.
She smiled to herself. There really was only one option.
"No, Red!" But listening to Strafford was not an option either. It was either fight, or die.
The girl was fast, but her long sword cost her valuable seconds and energy maneuvering it around Chloe. There were plenty of close calls where Chloe thought she was a goner, but for the most part, she held her ground. She was better at sword play than she thought she would be, although she did more defending than attacking––cutting off jabs aimed at her side, blocking suspended swings geared towards removing her head, jumping over the blade meant to turn her into an amputee. Though some parts of it felt instinctual, she convinced herself most of it was pure luck.
"Forget this sword!" The black-haired girl screeched, tired of getting nowhere fast. She tossed it away. "Though he'd prefer it if you were dead first, I don't mind dragging you down to dad alive!" She lunged for Chloe.
Instincts awakened, Chloe let her knife slip from her hand and braced herself for hand-to-hand combat. It felt like her jaw snapped in two when the girl's fist connected with her already bruised face. She stumbled back, feeling like her face should have a crack right down the middle of it. The girl came again, causing her to lose sight of Strafford, but the adrenaline surging through her gave her what she needed to keep it moving. She returned the jaw jab with as much force as she could muster and followed it up with a knee to the stomach. She hadn't expected the move to cause much damage to a half-god, so when the girl head butted he
r in her throbbing jaw, she wasn't surprised. She stumbled again, tripping on her own knife, and took a hard tumble to the ground. After she was over the impact and realized she wasn't really hurt, she looked up at her opponent, prepared for another attack…and found herself surrounded by five more.
"Grab her arms!" One yelled.
"I'll get her legs! Help me! The harpy's fast!" The girl she'd been fighting, shouted.
"What do we do with her? Where's Her Highness? Where's Varney?"
Chloe kicked and struggled and screamed, but her cries for help were swallowed alive by the noise of the battle. She managed to kick a leg free and jabbed the heel of her shoe into a boy's nose. His brother punched her in the gut for that, knocking the wind out of her, and the bloody nose boy reclaimed her leg.
"Do that again and I'll punch you in your nose next time," The brother growled, cracking the knuckles of his large hand.
They moved with her, but she struggled less now, still breathless and not wanting to earn that punch in the face. Her insides screamed with fear. They had been outnumbered from the beginning and there was no one to save her now. They were tied up in their own duels.
They had moved a good ways, along the wall in the direction of the closest corridor, when the group came to a sudden halt. She managed to raise her head and saw Strafford standing tall in their path, legs splayed, fists clenched. He sneered, but had his eyes on one thing and one thing only…her.
The boy who'd punched her stepped forward. "We're not above killing Princes! Not that you're much of one anymore!" He was a tall boy, almost as tall as Strafford, with a face like a bulldog and wide, curved shoulders that almost made him into a hunchback.
"I will only say it once, Brutus!" Strafford shouted, "Put her down and you'll live to insult me later!"
Brutus's smashed nose crinkled up with amusement. "Not a chance in hell, Law! We only take orders from Her Most Bane Highness, Varney! A real royal!"
Strafford shrugged. "Suit yourself."
And then things got interesting.
A bright light started to appear in the center of his bare torso and and spiraled out until it had filled him completely. His skin glowed a golden hue turning him into a replica of a stunning bronzed statue, chiseled and beautiful. The light traveled down the length of his arms and into his hands, it even illuminated his face. There was a blinding flash and she turned her head away from it. She felt her legs hit the ground first, then they dropped her all together. She hit the marble floor with a painful thud.
"I hate all of you," She groaned, and looked up to find them backing away from her.
Her eyes found Strafford…who was now holding a wide-bladed sword that was so lustrous and bronzed, a permanent light shone around it.
"The Summoner!" One shouted.
"It's Aor! He has the Sword of Apollo!" Another declared.
"Where do you guys think you're going?!" Brutus yelled, as his siblings turned to run off. "Cowards!" He screamed, "Varney will hear about this!" He pulled out his own sword. "Screw you, Your Highness!" He raised the sword above her. She screamed.
In one impressive stunt, Strafford ran, pushed off of the wall with his foot and flew at them, sword raised above him. As he landed, he brought the sword down, cutting through Brutus's arm like it was a softened stick of butter. There was no sound, there was no blood, just a missing arm where one used to be.
But the pain was all there. Brutus screamed bloody murder and collapsed to the floor, vibrating with shock, his amputated arm still holding his sword as it jerked around on the floor nearby.
Strafford pulled her to her feet and together they moved away from the fallen demigod.
"Aren't you gonna kill him?" She asked, her breath short, feeling like a giant had just stepped on her.
Strafford gave her a look. "You want him dead, Red?"
Was he really asking her this? "Hell yes! He tried to kill me! Make him very dead!" Being only seconds away from death oneself kind of got one used to the idea, she guessed. She was perfectly fine with Brutus kicking the bucket.
Strafford shrugged. "Your wish is my command, wan," and with one twirl of his sword, Aor, he drove the wide blade into Brutus's chest. The power of the blade seemed to consume him, illuminating his form, and he burst into shards of light that scattered and disappeared into the air. She realized this sword of Strafford's wasn't just any sword. What had they called it? The sword of Apollo? Had this sword actually belonged to the god? She was dying to know.
"Now time to get the hell out of here," He said. He pointed at the double doors at the top of the staircase with his sword. "We need to get there to leave the Chateau. Now that they've breached the walls of the palace, it's no longer safe here." He handed her a dagger. "I think you know wha' to do if it comes to tha'." Then, he began to cut a path for them through the conflict.
Demigods fell all around them, exploding into fragments of light as they went down. Strafford made a vocal signal, like a bird call, and she saw the others start fighting their way towards the stairs. Chloe didn't really need her dagger since the Quad had managed to bring the Chateau's intruders down to a manageable number. They succeeded in making it halfway up the stairs when Varney Bane burst into the hall holding her jaw.
The Princess surveyed the scene, then screeched, "If you let her get away, I'll kill you all myself!" She stepped on one of her own dead siblings as she moved forward.
There was a moment of pause where her other siblings tried to understand what was going on. Strafford kicked a boy near him in the chest and the boy flew backwards taking several of his siblings down with him. Varney screeched with irritation. Theseus sent an arrow directly through the heart of another and Ace cut down a girl with an accurate slit of her throat. Swindle practically dragged Chloe the rest of the way up the stairs towards the door.
"I can walk you know!" But she was ignored.
Swindle tried the doors' knobs. "I need the key, Strafford!" He shouted.
Strafford punched a boy, turned, tossed a round of keys up to them, then punched another boy who had managed to get a hit in during the brief diversion. Swindle caught the keys and unlocked the doors just as Chloe witnessed Varney Bane summon a darkness from within with a wave of her hand. It swept over her like a spell, wrapping her in it and turning her almost unrecognizable. Her face faded to black, then her hands. Wild winds began to whistle through the hall, drowning out the ongoing battle. Varney's clothes blew away, leaving her naked but covered by the darkness like a second skin. Her eyes were red and glowing and her lips formed fast words as she chanted something to herself.
"She's summoning the Scepter of Hades!" Swindle yelled. "If she uses it, we'll all be taking a little trip to the Underworld!"
"Over my dead demigod corpse!" Hector exclaimed, setting his bow, "I am not in the mood to go to the Underworld with that witch today!" He let his arrows begin to fly, aiming at the small mob below and Varney, whom they had no effect on at all. The Bane Princess moved closer and Chloe saw the beginnings of the scepter––a long pole with a glowing orb on the end of it––forming in her hands. Swindle pushed her into the white nothingness behind the door.
"Stay out of sight, Chloe," He said and ran back out. Of course, she didn't listen and moved to watch from the doorway.
A few moments later, Swindle pushed Hector inside, then Theseus jumped through. Ace was next and Swindle followed. Only Strafford remained on the other side of the door, still fighting.
"Strafford…" She breathed as Varney raised her now fully-formed Scepter and struck the marble floor with it.
The floor shattered and split the Chateau down the middle so violently Chloe thought an earthquake had been started. The Chateau started to fall apart around them. Statues fell, pillars cracked, the molding crashed to the floor in chunks. The fissure the Scepter made cracked wide, threatening to swallow Strafford right up in it. Clearly recognizing that the battle was lost, Varney's siblings saw it as a refuge and jumped right into it, the bodies of their falle
n siblings being sucked in after them.
It's an entrance into the Underworld, she thought. And Varney planned on them all going there, dead or alive.
Strafford leapt up the stairs three at a time, the spreading rift right on his heels.
Making his sword disappear, he lunged himself at the door. He came up short and barely managed to grab onto the top step as the rest of the stairs fell from under him. He dangled in open air over the massive sink hole the chasm had become. Theseus and Ace leapt forward to help him while Chloe stared in horror down into the dark, fiery pit with mountains of black granite and rivers of lava that would welcome their deaths. Varney laughed from an island of marble which was all that was left of the Chateau's Great Hall, as she watched them pull Strafford up to safety.
"Aren't you coming, Oracle?" She taunted across the pit, red eyes glowing. She gestured towards the fire below. "It's calling you!"
Chloe just stood, horrified. Hector raised his arm and flicked her off.
"Next time then," Varney laughed, and dove headfirst into the rolling flames.
*****
XIV. Chloe
Strafford had his arms around her waist.
The doors had closed, they were safe (beat up, sore, spattered with black blood, but safe), weapons were put away, Bill was a bird again, and Strafford had his arms around her waist.
It was a very hard concept to comprehend because Strafford had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't interested. He'd even suggested getting to know someone else, the nerve of the Irish punk. But she'd decided in the midst of the battle. She didn't want to get to know anyone else. She wanted to get to know him, and only him. He would just have to deal with it.
They weren't at the Chateau anymore and the whiteness behind the door had transformed into a lush penthouse somewhere high above a city. She could see the city's skyline outside two glass double doors that led out onto a half-moon terrace from across the room.
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